The Beat of the Anguished Heart
by NewlyWrittenBeginnings
Summary: The tale of two souls, embittered by the pains of death and murder, intertwined to save the world from a cursed blade that seeks to destroy them all. Cass X Siegfried.
1. Into Your Eyes, I stare

Disclaimer: Don't own (do we still put disclaimers? It's been so long since I've written on FF, but just in case).

Cassandra cringed as her foot squished into the mire surrounding Ostrheinsburg Castle, the end result of months of countless searching. She looked out across the expanse, feeling the dark aura of the place stick to her like a second skin. She swallowed hard, pushing a strand of hair out of her face, steeling her nerves. The mire intimidated her. The shadows of the dead lands could easily be hiding places for Nightmare's spawn. The grassy moss could cover traps and pitfalls for any unsuspecting traveler who dared cross into Nightmare's domain. They also served as holding pens for Soul Edge. Victims would be close enough that it could sate its hunger until it could find more ample souls.

Cassandra shivered. Images of the last village Nightmare had last visited flashed into her mind. She tried as quickly as she could to push the mutilated bodies from her memory. The dead children. The blood. The horror of dismemberment. As hard as she fought, the images saturated her mind for several, agonizing, seconds. She resisted the urge to puke. The aura of the dark castle amplifying the memory a hundred fold.

Cassandra sucked in a deep breath, her hands resting on her knees. She shook for a minute. All the preparation, all the mental barriers, didn't do a thing. They were undone. A single image of Nightmare's devastation nearly broke her, and she hadn't even stepped ten feet into his realm. If his aura had this much power over here, from a single memory, she wondered how much he could unleash How much devastation he could wrought on her emotions and memories, never mind the damage he could do with his zweihander. A blade that no human would be able to swing with such speed or power.

She took another deep breath. She wondered if she should run away. Avoid fighting him altogether, and simply hide away. She could give plenty of excuses: she didn't wield the dark blade's counterpart, Soul Calibur, Nightmare had grown several times stronger since his second binding, and she no longer could use the god's blade, Valkyrie. She would be the only one to defend Pyrrha if Sophitia failed. As well as many others, but she knew, that for whatever reason, she had to fight him this day. Something kept pushing her toward Nightmare, whether because of a spell or because he gut knew something her mind didn't, she knew she had to fight him this day. She knew to turn would have unimaginable consequences. She also knew she had to do this for Sophitia. She couldn't let her sister fight for a god that had long since abandoned them. She couldn't let her sister bear the burden of the cursed sword on her own.

Closing her eyes, Cassandra pushed all the doubt and fear from her mind. Once again she put up the mental barriers in her mind, forcing any memories that could be used against her down into the depths of her soul. She forcibly calmed her nerves and steadied her shaking hands. As she opened her eyes, her mind was crystal clear. She felt no fear, no hesitancy. She could see the world in an unhindered, piercing view. Everything was sharp and pristine. She saw everything in a new way. In an unmistakable way. She looked out across the marsh, courage instead of fear filling her breast, and stepped forward.

Her feet continued to sink into the ground, water occasionally seeping up into the top of her boots. She felt disgust as her woolen socks quickly absorbed the water and she was met with a constant, squishing, footstep. She navigated through the hidden roots and branches, stumbling once or twice as her foot caught the edge of a protruding stump hidden beneath the muck. She grew mildly irritated with every step because it seemed that no matter where she put her foot, there was always something there to grab onto it. She also began to worry. With so many roots and dead trees littering the ground, she found little maneuvering space. She worried that if she were to get jumped now, there'd be no where to fall back to. Anywhere she stepped would be a disaster waiting to happen. She could easily lose her balance with a single misstep and then it would all be over. She would be sitting in the mud, waiting for the weapon that would take her life, defenseless.

The idea nearly drove her mad with anger. She muttered curses beneath her breath; irritated at the realization that standing in this mire, she was virtually defenseless. There were no pitfalls or traps because the mire in itself was the trap. Nowhere to move, to avoid any oncoming attacks, nothing. A massive, natural trap that extended itself all around the Castle. Cassandra realized why Nightmare had chosen such a spot for his shelter. It already had its own natural defense, and wide open fields easy for him to view anything stupid enough to cross onto his land, such as a five two blonde Athenian girl. Cassandra cursed under her breath again.

She sprinted across the mire, barely keeping her footing as she almost constantly banged her feet and legs against roots and branches.

Suddenly, Cassandra felt very anxious…very disturbed. Something in the air felt wrong. She stopped mid-step and glanced around, her ears twitching at the slightest sound. She watched the ground beneath her, waiting for one of Nightmare's spawn to come up from the ground and assault her. Her hands twitched near her Digamma and Nemea shield. However, nothing attacked her. She still watched everything around her with wary. She pulled out Digamma and Nemea from off her back.

As she stood there for several seconds she felt the air grown increasingly sickening. The hair across her arms and neck stood on end, and her heart thumped against her chest. Her sword and shield suddenly felt heavier, and she found it difficult to breathe. Whatever the aura was, she found it increasingly taxing on her body. With every second everything grew heavier, while she grew weaker. Nothing serious for the moment, but she knew the longer she stayed out there, the less energy she would have to tangle with Nightmare. Something caught her attention. She looked up across the mire, but saw nothing. Her eyes scowered the field, even tracing the castle, and it was then when she saw it. Or rather, him. Up in one of the towers she felt Nightmare's presence upon her. Directly upon her, he watched her. He watched her with intensity far more powerful than the aura she'd felt moments before. No, this time, everything was focused on her. She swallowed. She had to move now.

_So much for surprise.___She thought.

Cassandra took off in a spring again, her feet flying across the mire, kicking up the loose mud and debris. She continued to stumble occasionally, but her body was learning where to step and how to step. Over the course of ten meters she's practically stopped stumbling and nearly reached her top speed of sixteen miles-per-hour. However, she noticed how sluggish her feet suddenly felt. Nightmare's presence made her feel heavy. Her muscles strained to keep up her constant speed, and she also found the aura had another unrelated effect. She felt depressed. She felt…disheartened. She almost felt hopeless. The thoughts of failure invaded her mind, and she imagined herself dying at his hands, her soul slowly rising out of her stomach, and snaking its way up into his sword. She imagined Sophitia, Rothion, everyone one she knew dying at his hands in the most gruesome manner. Her thoughts further ventured into the entire world falling into hellfire.

Cassandra's anger flared and pushed Nightmare from her thoughts. She would not fail. She would not let anyone else die because of him. She would NOT let anyone else suffer. Today it would end one way, or another.

She pushed herself harder.

After a few hundred more meters, Cassandra's shoes clacked against the stone slabs of the bridge. She glanced across the castle, and thought she saw his silhouette in the tower. She smirked at him. "You better get a good look because this little girl, is gonna kick your face in! I'm going to kill you for what you did for Sophitia you heartless monster!" Cassandra ran toward the castle, her blade and shield at her sides. Luckily for her, the gate had long since been destroyed, so it was a straight shot into the castle. There was nothing standing between her and the demon. She reveled in the thought.

A movement caught the corner of her green eyes. As she turned to look, the glint of steel flashed in her eyes. Cassandra barely had enough time to avoid the Revenant's blade. She skipped backwards, bashing her shield against the Revenant's sword, knocking it to the ground with a clank. The Revenant didn't stop. It attacked with its bare bones, slamming its jagged knuckles into her side. Cassandra gasped in pain as she felt the flesh across her lower ribcage tear apart. She threw the hilt of her blade into the revenant's face, shattering its left cheek bone and knocking it to the floor. Cassandra quickly bashed its skull and ribcage in with her Nemea shield.

Cassandra didn't have a moment to blink as another Revenant jumped her. She knelt low, pushing her weight into her shield, holding the skeleton long enough for her to leverage it over her shoulder. She thrust her blade into its skull, rendering the dark magic useless.

Her ears twitched behind her, the sound of bony footsteps creeping up on her. Cassandra angel stepped around, back-handing the revenant into the ground. It sat unmoving. As she rounded around, she saw ten revenants standing in front of her.

She smirked, "If you really want to kill me Nightmare, you're going to have to try a lot harder than that." She said, her hand clenching around her sword. "Come on you monsters!" She sprinted toward them.

Within a second she closed on them, slicing her blade cleanly through the ribcage through the nearest revenant. She jumped back as the slashed retaliating blows. She smashed the closest one with her shield before jumping back again, barely avoiding another sword.

Metal sparked and blades whistled as she scrambled to deflect them all. She spun, parried, kicked, blocked, everything she could to avoid them. She ran away from the castle, giving herself some breathing room while at the same time trying to think of a strategy to take them out one by one or two-by-two if necessary. She looked up to see the swamp. She smirked. Sprinting for the swamp, she hoped that the debris and fallen trees would trip their clumsy bodies.

Her feet barely squished into the mud when she felt something strike her in the back. She gasped in pain, nearly stumbling face first into the ground. She managed to catch herself and keep running, but winced in pain with every motion. She glanced back to see an arrow protruding from her right shoulder. She pulled out the arrow, surprised that at such close range it had failed to pierce her lamellar cuirass, but as she looked at its tip, she found that time had long since dulled its edge. She glanced back behind her again, and saw a Revenant notch another arrow. She ducked behind a tree. She felt the arrow hit it then bounce off. She peered around and barely managed to move out of the way as an undead skeleton slashed where her head had been.

Cassandra thrust her blade through its skull. "Seven more to go," She thought.

She sprinted from the tree, rolling to avoid another arrow and managed to catch another Revenant by its foot as it over shot her. She forced her shield into its skull. She had to move over its corpse as two more came at her with battles axes so huge, that when they struck the ground it left a gapping whole in their wake. She rolled across the ground again and again as they kept swinging almost effortlessly. However, she was rapidly running out of time as each strike steadily got closer, she forced herself to roll backward and onto her feet. She staggered as an arrow struck near her left foot. Cassandra had to duck to avoid yet another axe swing. She flipped backwards, managing to gain a little room. As it swung again, she ducked, and with a quick angel step, fired her arm like a piston, her shield breaking the skeleton's torso from its legs.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the remainder bunch together near a nearby tree. They watched her with what she thought as wary. She turned to them, her sword and shield raised in front of her. She watched them for several, long, seconds trying to read their expressionless faces.

She kept her ears keen on her surroundings, listening for the pullback of a bow.

Then, they suddenly dropped their weapons and ran away, almost as if they were afraid of her. She watched them in wonder. Revenants couldn't possibly feel emotion, let alone fear. They were simply autonomous corpses, raised up using either dark magic or temporary possession by Soul Edge. She looked behind her to make sure it wasn't simply a distraction, but she saw nothing except the dead trees and foliage.

Warily, she jogged back toward the castle, keeping herself aware of everything around her. She couldn't shake the feeling that despite the revenants had run away, something was amiss. She knew they didn't simply abandon their quarry. Something had drawn them away. But what? Nightmare wouldn't have drawn them away, not if he could've had her soul without fighting her. So what did? Cassandra shook her head. Something was toying with her. She didn't know what, but whatever it was, it was ticking her off.

**********

"Aughhh!!!" Siegfried yelled, cleaving the revenant in half with Soul Calibur. He swung the massive blade in a sweep, slicing cleanly through the five revenants that stood in front of him. As he slid into a chief stance, he threw the handle of the blade into an oncoming revenant's chest, shattering it. He deflected a blade before slashing down on the revenants body, slicing in two.

He spun around, bashing another revenant with the width of his blade, sending it flying across the ground. Siegfried growled in frustration. In front of him stood at least a hundred revenants, all licking their chops (figuratively speaking). He didn't have time for this. The blonde Athenian responsible for hundreds of deaths had entered the castle only minutes before him. He couldn't let her feed Nightmare with the hundreds of souls buried in her blade. If she did, Siegfried didn't know if he or Soul Calibur would have the power to defeat him. Being so close to death, any larger expenditure of energy may kill him prematurely, before he had even struck down Nightmare. He no longer cared for his life, but to die before completing his mission would mean the entire world would fall into despair. He couldn't let that happen. He had to reach the Athenian girl and strike her down. As much as it pained him to kill yet another human, he couldn't allow a servant of Nightmare to survive, not when they willingly bathed themselves in blood. For the world to find peace, all would have to die. He didn't have time for these slaves. "Get out of my way!" He screamed. He thrust his blade into the ground, and focused Soul Calibur's energy. In a flash he released it. It lashed out across the ground and froze everything in its wake in a massive wave. As the revenants were rooted to the ground, Siegfried could see the strands of Nightmare's control flee from them as his control was severed.

He strapped his blade to his back and ran toward Osthreinsburg.

***

The darkness swirled visibly all around her. Cassandra felt it slide and slither across her skin, moving through the sleeves of her shirt and up her legs. She shivered and shook violently, trying to shake it off of her. She patted her legs with her hands and debated on tying her skirt to her knees. For the first time ever, she felt vulnerable in her Atlanta skirt. The darkness kept crawling across her skin, at times feeling like it was applying pressure to her body, searching for a gap that would give way to her soul. She shivered again, pushing her skirt against her legs.

If the darkness wasn't unnerving enough, every time she passed a torch or furnace it would light up through some mysterious force. Often, she found whenever she stepped foot in a hallway or spacious room, everything would light simultaneously. However, the light would very nearly be choked by the darkness that currently caressed her skin. It flickered back and forth, like it would do if a child were to place a box over a flame and remove it before it consumed all the oxygen. It would strangle it, and then release it right before it died. Cassandra thought she even saw shadowy figures placing their dark hands around the flame, encapsulating it between their hands until death.

The light cast an ominous glow about the place, clashing with the dark. Everything was grey, dreary. Evil. The walls seething death, the ceiling oozing shadow. For the first time, Cassandra could see the darkness, not simply feel it. She could see how it sloshed through the air, literally, and crawled on the floor in the pathway of where she walked, and then springing up as if to striker her foot, like a snake. She slid away from it, watching as it followed her movements and snaked its way towards her. In a rush, Cassandra thrust her blade into it. For a moment, she thought she heard it scream before it dissipated into the air. She stared at where it once lay, confused, and somewhat disturbed. The scream had sounded human. Did that mean it could've been what remains after Nightmare eats his victims? The parts of the soul Nightmare rejects because the pieces were not strong enough or too pure? Or was it simply the manifestation of the remains of those already inhabiting his "stomach"?

She shook her head. She'd have to worry about it later. Nightmare came first. Besides, if they were connected to him, they'd disappear along with him, once she destroyed him.

Cassandra continued to walk through the halls, ignoring the darkness and shadow figures that seemed to stalk her. She refused to allow Nightmare the satisfaction that these spirits, or whatever they were, unnerved her. She would not show the monster weakness or fear, even if she stood t his feet with his blade hanging over her head. Even if she couldn't move, she would make sure he saw the defiance in her eyes, and when he tried to consume her, she would fight him in every last inch of air. Cassandra Alexandra would not be easy prey. No, she'd be the one that killed him or his most difficult meal ever. She'd make sure she'd purify part of him if she went down.

The spirits around her seem to respond to her resolve. The darkness that once clung to her let go and flew into the air. All the slime that stood in her path quickly scrambled away, almost in fear. She smirked, "That's right, you'd better run," She thought. As the darkness around her cleared, she took a deep breath. She took a deep breath. Although the air still tasted stale, it no longer choked her. She felt refreshed.

Cassandra stiffened, the sound of soft footsteps reaching her ears. She turned around slowly, her hands tightly wrapping around her blade until her knuckles turned white. A soft growl echoed through the halls. Cassandra's eyes widened.

"It can't be."

"Hello, Cassandra. Nice to see you sister." Sophitia walked from the shadows of the hallway. A broad, sinister, smile plastered across her face. Her crimson eyes flashing devilishly at her.

Cassandra took a step back, realizing instantly what was wrong with her sister. Realizing why her milky skin had turned sickly pale. Why her green eyes now bore a shining crimson hue, and why her blonde hair now contained streaks of blood red highlights."NO! What have you done!?" She screamed, grasping Digamma so tightly her fingernails cut into her skin. "Sophitia what have you done?! Why? WHY?" Tears streaked down Cassandra's face as she stared at her sister, feeling her heart die with the passing seconds.

She'd pushed so far, motivated by the very woman that stood in front of her to destroy the cursed sword, to ensure that no one else would ever become a victim of its insatiable hunger. She pushed so far to ensure that her sister would never have to bear the burden of the sword again. She'd pushed so far to have a future for her family; to be with Sophitia, Rothion, Pyrrha, and Patroklos. She went to the edges of the world to have her children play with her sister's, and laugh as they roughed housed with each other. She went so far, virtually unscathed by Nightmare's touch, to this moment when she could strike him down and end the rampage of the greatest murderer in history. And yet, in this moment, everything fell apart. She'd finally felt the sting of Nightmare's blade as it cut its way into her soul, destroying one of the few reasons of her being. He'd struck back, and he'd struck deep.

Sophitia innocently cocked her head to the side, "What's wrong sister? Don't you like the new highlights? I put them in myself, it was quite messy though I must say," She grinned wickedly, "Still well worth it, I mean, I think they fit me. Don't you?"

"Shut up." Cassandra said, letting out another sob. She tried to wipe the tears from her face, but they wouldn't stop, no matter how much she tried to will them.

"Oh Cass don't be like that. Aren't you happy to see your sister after so many months? I expected you to be leaping for joy, hugging me and telling me how excited you were to see me, like back when we were kids. Now come over here and give me a hug. I missed you too you know." Sophitia held out her arms expectedly.

Cassandra felt her heart thump against her chest. For a second, Sophitia looked as she did only a year ago. Her arms stretched out towards her with such care that it reminded her of how Sophitia looked as Cassandra came home from her daily errands, happy to see she'd returned safely, or when she would try to console her after losing a match in her weekly training sessions. She held out her arms so lovingly and invitingly, that Cassandra almost forgot that the person she faced was no longer the woman she remembered.

She let out one last sob. "You're not my sister anymore."

Sophitia shook her head, "Cassandra, why do you say that? It's not nice to lie, and that hurts. Of course I'm your sister. Who else would I be?"

"A monster. That's all you are." Cassandra's nails dug deeper into her palms. "You are no longer Sophitia Alexandra, my sister, you are Nightmare's slave. No, you're Soul Edge's slave. His murderous pet. You're dead to me."

Sophitia feigned hurt, "Cassandra, how could you be so cruel? I thought I had been a better example to you. How could you say such a thing? The gods would be disappointed in you."

She screamed, "Screw the gods Sophitia! There are no gods! If there were gods they wouldn't have let this happen to you! They wouldn't have let you turn into this monstrosity. They wouldn't have let you die."

"That's blasphemy to speak of the gods in such a way! And Cass, I'm not dead, I'm right here, waiting for my little sister to give me a hug." Sophitia grinned again, this time flashing unnaturally sharp teeth that Cassandra had not noticed before. They looked sharp enough to puncture her neck with little effort, and perhaps even tear flesh from bone. Cassandra retched at the thought, but she remembered this wasn't her sister anymore. This woman murdered countless innocents, for lesser reasons than Nightmare. She didn't need to eat souls to survive, he did. She killed because it seemed that's what he told her to do, so it really shouldn't surprise her if she committed other unspeakable atrocities. But it did. Sophitia had been so strong, so pure. Incorruptible. She fought for good and for the lives of those she loved, no matter the cost to her. She would've willing given up her life for a stranger if it meant that he or she would've been able to go home to his/her family and sleep soundly at night. She would've done anything for anybody because that's Sophitia. The one person Cassandra knew she could always count on. The one she wanted to be like, but this person, she was a murder. A monster. Sophitia had died long ago, she realized, and would never shed another tear for her.

No, she would not feel remorse for this woman. Her sister had died a year ago.

"Enough. I'm done with this. Sophitia, it's time to put your memory to rest. This thing," She said with disgust, "you've become is destroying your memory, and for the sake of your children, I have to make sure that when I tell them of your death, they remember the woman you used to be." As she said Sophitia's children, she thought she saw her wince. She shrugged it off. "I just have one thing to ask. Why, did you let yourself be consumed by Soul Edge?"

Sophitia's smile fell, and her eyes penetrated into Cassandra. "For the same reason any human does. For power."

Cassandra scoffed, "Not you. I know," She hesitated, "knew you. You'd never sacrifice your soul for something so arbitrary as power. What was the reason Sophitia?"

Sophitia's eyes dropped to the floor, her face remorseful, but it quickly disappeared, "It doesn't matter the reason. I'm servant to Soul Edge now. The reasons for it don't matter anymore. All that matters is now. All that matters is that I have to harvest your soul. I'm sorry Cass, I have no choice." She shifted her body into her battle stance, her blade and shield poised at Cassandra. Cassandra noticed that her Omega sword and Elk shield had little in common with the weapons she had seen a year ago. They had become twisted and organic, only a thin strip of metal in the middle of the blade showed any sign of the weapon once being forged of Hephaestus' holy steel. Cassandra noticed that she couldn't feel the blades holy aura anymore. She could only feel corruption, and death.

"Sophitia…" She said sadly. She took a deep breath and raised Digamma and Nemea.

Cassandra struck first. Angel stepping across the room, she swept her blade across Sophitia's face, before twisting her wrist and slicing downwards. Sophitia parried both and threw her shield into Cassandra's midsection. Twisting away, Cassandra rounded her shield across Sophitia's face. Her sister ducked beneath it, elbowing Cassandra in the gut. Cassandra shrugged it off and jumped back, giving herself enough time to recover. She slid back towards Sophitia, throwing down several directional hacks, each of which were blocked and dispatched. Sophitia spun around the younger Athenian, her blade arcing down across Cassandra's chest. As Cassandra blocked it, she felt Sophitia's hard soled heel smack her in the leg. Sophitia followed with another slash.

Cassandra parried it, and twirled around, Omega sword whistling behind her. She swung at Sophitia, their blades sparking at the impact of each other. Cassandra fought with her for a second, edging her off balance enough to deliver a powerful kick to Sophitia's knee. Sophitia let out a grunt and pushed off Cassandra. She limped away from her to gather herself, but Cassandra didn't give her long.

In a flash, her blade smashed in Sophitia's shield, knocking the Crimson Athenian off balance and onto the floor. She rolled out of the way as Cassandra smashed her shield in where she lay. Using her arms as leverage, Sophitia rolled head over heels and onto her feet. Se whirled around in time to stop Cassandra from punching her in the face with the hilt of Digamma. She grabbed her sister's arm, shoving her into the ground and kicking her in the ribs. Hard. Cassandra gasped in pain as her insides creaked. She rolled away before Sophitia could kick again.

Cassandra clutched her side as the two took a second to gather themselves. She struggled for breath as each expansion of her lungs pushed against her throbbing sides. Sophitia had kicked harder than Cassandra remembered, even though the two had sparred; she'd never kicked that hard before. Cassandra had felt a full on Sophitia kick and it had never hurt so much before. Sophitia was also faster, not by much, but enough to worry her. With speed being the Crimson Athenian's strength, any addition to it made her that much more dangerous.

Cassandra forced herself to stand, wincing in pain doing so. She watched Sophitia erect herself as well. She favored her right knee, and Cassandra knew exactly where to hit. Guilt grabbed her heart at the thought. Sophitia may be a monster now, but the same blood ran through her veins. She was still her only sister, no matter how evil she had become. Crimson met emerald as their eyes linked: one full of desire, passion, love, and courage, the other consumed by intimidation, rage, and death. The compassion Cassandra had seen in her eyes only a year before didn't exist anymore. In Sophitia's eyes, Cassandra saw the transformation from human to monster. From sister to demon and how simple it was. One touch from Soul Edge, and anyone would become corrupted, no matter pure their soul. Even Sophitia.

A single tear rolled down Cassandra's cheek.

Like thunder the sisters clashed, their blades piercing the silence. They sliced, hacked and slashed away at each other, the soul of the pure trying to overwhelm the soul of the impure. The eternal struggle of the ideologies resonating in this moment, as sisters of life and death fight for dominance of the world's future. Metal howls and organic steel screeches, the pain of their souls rending the air. Their wills flow and falter as memories of the past invade their minds. Love, happiness, laughter and peace collide with death, fear, slaughter and evil. The darkness surrounding them scatters and breaks, the walls of the castle visibly shaking with each blow. Their holy steel and corrupting metal clashing together at last.

Cassandra grabbed Sophitia's shield and twisted it behind her back, unbuckling it as she did so. She ripped it off her arm before Sophitia wiggled her way free. Sophitia spun around, kicking her leg into Cassandra's side. Cassandra yelped and jumped away from her. Sophitia charged her. She hacked away at Nemea. Sparks flew as Cassandra struggled to defend herself.

Unhindered by her shield or giving little attention to protection, Sophitia unleashed an all out assault. With speed and power Cassandra had never seen, the Crimson Athenian slammed into her. Sophitia's blade cut the air so quickly, Cassandra couldn't even see the organic steel glinting in the flame's light. Blindly, Cassandra tried to avoid her, but could feel her sword nicking and ripping her tunic. She could feel her shield reverberate in protest as she luckily managed to block a strike.

Cassandra's back met the wall. She cursed and ducked, metal screeching above her head as Omega sword sliced through the stone wall. She rolled to the right, but as she rose, Sophitia already stood in front of her. She gasped and jumped back, but Sophitia's foot collided with her head. Cassandra spun around, crashing into the wall behind her. A fractured slab of stone cut the side of her face. It drew a bloody line from her left temple to her cheek.

Cassandra tired to roll away again, but Sophitia caught her across the back. Searing pain shot through her back as Omega sword cut through her flesh. Her skin burned. She could feel the organic blade trying to bind itself to her, several tiny strands of flesh cauterizing her skin. She growled and pulled away from it, feeling her skin tear from it. She twirled around to face her.

Sophitia charged again. Cassandra twisted away from her but Sophitia's leg connected with her side in a round house. Digamma slid away from her as she impacted the floor, yelping in pain when she rolled across her back. Painfully, she kicked her legs behind her, hinging herself into a guard stance. The Crimson Athenian slammed into it causing it to vibrate violently. Pain went up through her arm in shock waves. She felt like her arm had been smashed with a sledge hammer. The bone felt broken, or at least fractured. Her sister swung at her again. Cassandra leaped to the side, but Sophitia still caught her across the face. Omega drew a bloody trail from the edge of her nose to the bottom of her chin.

Sophitia kicked her in the chest.

Cassandra collapsed to the ground, her ribs aching, blood soaking into her back, and her face pounding. Sophitia grinned wickedly, seemingly delighted to see her sister's face etched in pain, and seeing her blood ooze onto the floor. Her crimson iris's pulsated. Cassandra tried to stand, but something held her down. Invisible shackles locked her to the floor around her wrists and ankles. She struggled against them, but they only cut into her skin.

Sophitia let out a twisted laugh, "Poor little Cassandra, can't you move?"

Cassandra glared defiantly at her. Her emerald's shining brightly. "Shut up, shut up. You're nothing but a harlot. Whoring yourself out to Hephaestus first and now Soul Edge. I hope you die."

Sophitia feigned hurt, "Ouch, such hurtful words dear sister. I can't believe you'd say such thing."

"You're not human anymore, you can't feel a thing."

"On the contrary, I am human. I'm just experiencing life in a whole new way. It's so much more…intense." She grinned, her canines glinting in the light. "Now, why don't you join me? You'd be surprised the kind of pleasure you get from killing. It's quite riveting." She twirled Cassandra's hair. "You know, red fits you."

Cassandra spit on her, "Screw you. I'd rather die."

Rage filled Sophitia's face. In a flash, she cut across Cassandra's stomach. Omega easily cut through her lamellar armor and into her soft, milky, skin. Cassandra bit back a scream. "Gonna have to try harder than that." She managed.

"You always were the stubborn one. " Her fingers slid down across Cassandra's stomach, blood seeping onto her fingers. Sophitia lifted up her hand and admired it in the light. "You're gonna make a fine soul for Soul Edge. Such healthy, rich blood. I'm sure you'll feed him for weeks." She licked her fingers. Then pain suddenly manifested on her face. She screamed as her bloody fingers burned. "Ah you little witch. You're blood is too pure!" She grasped her throat.

Cassandra smirked, "Guess you're master is in trouble huh? Eat me and he'll die. Too bad for you."

The pain vanished from Sophitia's face, and she was grinning again, "Well, I guess the pleasure of killing you is all my own. Finally, all the frustration you caused me by going after Soul Edge when I told you not to can be released. Oh I can't wait."

Cassandra's heart wretched. The tone of Sophitia's voice was filled with such sick delight that it sent shivers down her spine. It held no shame or hesitance, only pleasure; twisted pleasure that could only belong to a person who had clearly lost their humanity. It broke Cassandra while at the same time, filled her with fear. She gazed at Sophitia's face. It was once so beautiful; merely looking upon her would soften a person's heart. Now, her darkened, pale, features struck fear into them.

Tears stung her eyes.

Sophitia straddled Cassandra's stomach, causing her to wince, and raised Omega above her head, the tip hovering over her heart. "Well sister, I guess this is good-bye. I'll see you in hell."

The tears burst from Cassandra's eyes as she choked back a sob, "I love you, Sophitia." She closed her eyes, and released her spirit.

Sophitia's arms thrust forward, and tore into flesh. Hot blood dribbled down Cassandra's chest, and airless heaves filled the air. A body thudded against the floor.

Cassandra's eyes popped open. To the left of her lay Sophitia, Omega buried between her breasts. Their eyes locked, emerald shining against emerald.

"S-Sophitia?" Her voice cracked. "Sophitia no!" Cassandra scrambled to her, the shackles broken, and lifted her onto her lap with her good arm. "Sophitia, no. No, Sophitia. Why?" She stroked her hair, as Sophitia had done to her as a child whenever she was in pain.

Weakly, Sophitia placed her hand on Cassandra's arm, "Please forgive me. I'm so sorry for hurting you. It was breaking my heart, but I couldn't stop. Another part of me was too invigorated by it. I couldn't stop. It was like it wasn't really me." She coughed, blood covering her bottom lip.

Cassandra tore off a piece of her tunic with her teeth and wiped the blood away. "It's ok, I know it wasn't you. I know it wasn't." Tears rolled down her cheek.

"I love you Cassandra. Please take care of Pyrrha, Rothion and Patroklos." She winced. "I did it for them Cassandra. I did it all for them. Please forgive me." She gave a weak smile and then her eyes glazed over, and her body fell limp. A final breath escaped her lips.

"Sophitia no, don't go! Please Sophitia don't go!" She shook Sophitia's body frantically, "No, you can't go! I can't do it without you!" She cried, "I can't do it without you…" Her grip tightened around Sophitia and she sobbed into the crook of her neck; her body shaking in massive heaves. Her mind couldn't understand the woman in her arms, the warmth that still touched her skin or the green eyes that stared up at her. She couldn't understand the dead weight she carried in her arms. Her mind played the scene over her mind until she couldn't deny it anymore. Her sister was dead, and everything she'd fought for was gone.

Tears stained her cheeks, the piercing sound of her anguish rending the air. The castle foundation shook. Her pained cries were so great that even the gods themselves could not but shed a tear. Until at last, her cries fell silent.

**So I hope everyone has enjoyed this so far, and I would very much appreciate and CC anyone has to offer. I know this probably wasn't the best place to end, and I'm sure someone is going to flame me for killing off Sophitia, but I needed to stop here otherwise it would've taken away some of the ideas that I had planned for the second and third chapters. So I apologize if it seems abrupt, and that is where CC comes in. I'm still getting back into my writing so anything anyone has would be a great blessing. Ok that's it, until next time!**


	2. She Said No

Disclaimer: Still don't own nothing of SC or the franchise.

Chapter 2: She Said No

Taki vaulted up one of the fractured walls of the castle; pleading desperately under her breath she could beat the Siegfried from reaching Nightmare. He held the power to destroy them all and she couldn't allow him to clash swords again with the Azure Knight. The devastation the two could wrought from the combination of the two swords could destroy everything around them.

Images of the first meeting of the cursed swords flashed in her mind; the massive explosion that rippled across the Lost Cathedral, tearing apart everything in its wake from hardened stone to the ancient forest that surrounded the house of worship. For five hundred yards, the force of the swords reached out across the landscape consuming everything until nothing but charred ash and darkened stone was left. A shallow, but long crater stood in its wake. That had been one of the most terrifying moments in her life. Using every technique she had learned from her ninjutsu training she had barely managed to keep a step ahead of the wave and even then hadn't been able to escape unscathed from it. The heat of the two swords had viciously burned her back, and the sudden expenditure of all of her energy forced her powers into a state of hibernation. For three months she lay wounded in a village in the mountains above the cathedral, slowly regaining her strength and powers. Her back was horribly scarred from her shoulders to her the very small of her back, and at one time caused her great pain in any movement of her body. Thankfully, she soon was able to heal the worst of it as her power came back to her. Now it barely offered her a twinge, but it would never fully heal she knew.

Her power, however, had not come back as quickly as she had hoped. Yes, she was able to heal battle wounds and sense the presence of demons again (which was how she even knew the swords came back) but her offensive abilities had not returned. She could not properly use her seals and spells to their full power. In fact, she found that she had immense difficulty sealing the few weak demons that had wondered the mountain village she had slain to repay them for their kindness. What scared her most is that her sacred armor was probably the only thing that had saved her. Although she was still lightning quick and powerful in the physical sense, it did nothing against ghostly apparitions and demonic energy. She had taken more blows than she had ever received in her entire collection of battles than against those measly demons. Without her spells and energy, she could only slowly cut away at them with painful strokes that taxed her and her failing Rekkimaru. She dared not use Mekkimaru in her current state. The blade would easily overpower and devour her. So she resorted to all of her ninjutsu tricks and deceptions to slay them, and only did so at a cost of many injuries.

Even now, after another month of searching, she had only regained a third of her power, a far cry from the strength she would need to defeat the two swords, but she didn't have a choice. If she didn't do something now then the two would fight across the world until nothing remained. She was the only one that witnessed the strength and raw power they could unleash, and therefore was the only one that could understand how dangerous they were. She didn't have a choice.

Taki landed effortlessly on the lip of a broken stone slab, the wall having been crushed by a massive stone fired from a device she knew was called a trebuchet, and scanned the upper reaches. She squinted as she searched for a way in. The higher she looked up, the less she found she would be able to grasp. The many footholds that had allowed her to reach halfway up the wall were stretching farther apart, having been unscathed from the ancient sieges that had carved the lower sections into splintered and jutting rock. She needed to find a way in now before it became too dangerous for even her. Last thing she needed was to get stuck on some far reaching stump of rock and find that she had nowhere else to go. Climbing up onto ledges that stuck out a foot or so was one thing. Jumping down onto them was an entirely different, and consequently, more dangerous matter.

Her chocolate eyes looked across the smooth stones of the castle wall, catching the faintest of glints on a ledge that hung thirty feet out and across from her. She crouched, her legs tightening like tight, hardened springs, as her arms hung low at her sides, acting as both a balancing mechanism and emergency brakes that would catch her on another nearby ledge. Effortlessly, and with a certain and confident grace, she leaped from her crouched position and easily landed on the ledge with nothing but the light "click" of her wicker sandals. She turned to the window that had glinted against the sun's light and at one time would've surely found it a beautiful piece of art. Although half of it had disappeared either through time or combat, the other half was well crafted with the finer colors of royalty. Blue streaks stretched out across the lower section of the glass. Mixed within it were faint blotches of white, clouds that hung within the blue expanse. Upon the clouds she could see a pair of legs, clad in heavy steel grieves that bore a mark of a wolf upon each knee cap. But that is where the image ended, only jagged pieces of glass showed a few, incomplete pieces.

Taki peaked inside, finding the room or hallway, she couldn't tell which, to be pitch black. The air felt old and stale, leaving an unpleasant odor in her nostrils. She looked around for a way to wiggle her way inside without upsetting the window pane. Her eyes found a small ledge above her, barely enough to wrap her fingers around. Pulling her head back, she grasped the ledge, and with the same strength and confidence, pulled herself up, and through, the opening. She landed with a loud crunch as her feet bit into the remains of the pane scattered about the floor. She stiffened and cursed beneath her breath. Her hands instinctively flew to Rekkimaru and Mekkimaru. However, in the same moment she realized how near her hand was to the dark blade, and instead forced herself to move to another sword tucked beneath one of her spaulders.

For several long seconds Taki stood silently, only moving to escape the reaches of the light passing through the window, and waited. Nothing emerged from the darkness and she soon stood in a relaxed crouch. However, one of her hands still hovered near Rekkimaru. She let out a slow breath and stood.

Using what little she could of her powers, Taki managed to create a small screen of energy between the eye slits of her mask which now amplified what little light was in the room. This, combined with techniques learned in her training, she could move relatively easy in even the darkest of hallways, rooms, or caves. It was how she had managed to defeat the slithering demons that loved to lithe in the darkest of places.

Taki ran through the hall with the kind of silence only a trained ninja could possess, and began her search for the Knights.

******

Siegfried sprinted toward the tortured scream with all the strength his legs could possess, fear gripping his soul as images of another innocent falling to Soul Edge's hunger flashed in his mind. He paid little attention to the revenants and apparitions that attempted to stand in his way, and cut them down by a simple flick of his wrist. Soul Calibur's crystallized steel glinted brilliantly in the torch light, easily slicing through the reanimated bodies. Siegfried spat as he ran through the falling skeletons, missing the extra length his zweihander version of Soul Calibur had given him. Although he wasn't afraid of getting so close to the fiendish reanimations, he didn't like the unfamiliarity of using an old style of swordsmanship he hadn't used in years, but within a castle built for siege, he had little choice.

In preparation of those attempting to storm the castle, the builders had created narrow hallways that only allowed small groups of invaders, no more than two or three across the width of the hall at any given time, into the halls. In turn, this would often give the defender a key advantage as the invaders rushed up the halls and staircases with the rush of battle coursing through them; they often gave little thought to their surroundings. He remembered stories of a single defender halting an advance of a horde of invaders in one such hallway, the men so invigorated and angered that they all tried to rush at once, but were soon caught betwixt another's shoulders and found themselves unable to swing their swords. The defender was able to slaughter a large number of invaders until the dead nearly formed a barricade against anyone else reaching up the stairs.

It was stories, and experience, that had forced him to change Soul Calibur from its traditional zweihander version to the much smaller, but unfamiliar, katzbalger* version. The change left him feeling somewhat vulnerable even though the much smaller weapon could be swung with one hand and with little effort, especially with the added strength Soul Calibur gave him. The blade could slice through the thick stones of the castle with little effort on his part, which he supposed gave him the ability to cut him an entrance or exit if he needed to. However, it left his other hand free, which was what made him feel vulnerable. Without the cool, solid, two-handed grip of Soul Calibur to grasp onto he didn't feel whole. He had spent most of his using a fighting style that allowed him to fall into a variety of stances, based upon the need and strength of an opponent. The style gave him a flexibility and versatility that he had come to rely on, and survive on. The much shorter weapon gave him less to work with. He couldn't play the range game, nor could he use it as an effective defensive weapon. The small width of the blade wouldn't allow him to push against a wall of energy as he had to endure in the past against the skilled, vengeful, relations of those he had killed as Nightmare. Not to mention the energy blasts Nightmare has become so fond of over recent months, often manipulating the power of the darkness within him onto souls, which are then used as catalysts for missiles of his essence. They virtually vaporized and absorbed the souls of the weak when struck, as well as the soul used as the catalyst, basically giving him an infinite supply. Only inanimate objects could deflect them.

So needless to say, he could use the basic inantimacy (and width) of a zweihander version of Soul Calibur. The comfort of his natural style would help a bit too.

Siegfried caught one of the revenant's blades with his free hand and easily tore it from its grasp before smashing the hilt of the blade through its skull. Well, having an extra hand to manipulate things helped a bit too he supposed.

He shrugged off a blow to the shoulder as a revenant's blade harmlessly bounced off his heavy steel and crystal pauldrons before grasping the arm of the reanimation and pulling it free of its socket. He took the creature's head from its shoulders with a quick back handed stroke. A solid right slug into the right cheek bone of another revenant sent its skull flying off its body. The creature sank to the ground, squirming and floundering as if the mind was still sending impulses to its body.

Siegfried grew increasingly frustrated and fearful for the owner of the scream as wave after wave of revenants crashed upon him. He slashed through them effortlessly, but they were taking too much time. He had to get to that pained scream. The person may still be alive, but he couldn't know until he reached him or her.

Only one person needed to die today.

In a sudden burst of rage, Siegfried threw himself into the waves of revenants. His blade bit and ripped the head off one creature, while his hand sliced through the neck of another. Soul Calibur glinted against the pale light as it easily sliced and hacked through the countless monsters that stood in its wake. Manipulating the crystals attached to his gauntlet, Siegfried combined and extended them out a foot from his wrist. The new extension of crystals game together in the shape of a sword about the width of his hand, but it rested on top of his arm, giving him use of his hand to grapple while still maintaining another weapon to cut through the enemy.

With another weapon at his disposal, Siegfried cut through the revenants with incredible speed. His blades whistled through the air, barely stuttering as they impacted hardened steel plates and bone, slicing through them and often times into the figure behind them. In seconds, he carved himself a path through the horde and sprinted up the stairs, only looking back to ensure nothing was trying to stab him in the back.

He could feel Nightmare's aura begin to push against him now the higher up the castle he went. It was so thick he could feel it slither against his face and finger the gaps of his armor as it searched for a way to enter. Without thinking he called out to Soul Calibur, closing his armor with a layer of crystals. At the same time, he pushed against the darkness with his own power. Light shone from his chest and shoulders, projecting out several feet in front of him, covering the walls and the reaches of the ceiling with an almost blinding pure light. Almost immediately he felt Nightmare's presence disappear and could see the shadows that had begun to crowd around him quickly run and claw up against the walls; pushing themselves against the open crevices looking for anyway to escape the biting coolness of the holy light.

As his greaves clattered against the final steps of the staircase he found himself in a large room, the walls worn and broken from the effects of time and the first time Ostrheinsburg was stormed by the three holy warriors. Tattered remains of the old banners hung loosely about the walls, the once bright red emblems of the wolf were now a darkened, dust covered remnant of what they once were. Shadows fell in the darkest corners of the room, scurrying from the light of the sun as it peaked its way in through a series of windows that lined the far wall.

A defiant scream reached his ears. He turned to his left to see a large group of revenants standing near one of the corners of the room, slowly slinking toward something (or someone) like a beast hunting its prey. The movement of the undead creatures looked almost methodical. They swayed slightly from side to side, and he thought he could see a slight toying nature in their sway, like they weren't taking this hunt completely seriously. Or, they knew they had already won. They were merely drawing out the hunt.

"Get away from me!" The voice of a young woman rang out through the room, echoing slightly in the vaulted ceiling. There was the loud thud of a body crashing to the floor as Siegfried caught the glint of a small shield smashing into one of the approaching revenants. Siegfried jumped forward without a second thought.

Soul Calibur lashed out across the backs of four revenants, the sword having returned to its traditional zweihander version, effectively severing them in half. Their bodies fell to the floor as their arms flailed helplessly in the air before crashing to the ground. He crushed their skulls with a strong, swift, kick of his boot. He brought the massive sword back around and with almost effortless strength, cleaved one of the creatures in half from head to groin. He twisted his wrist and swung the blade in a half arc, slicing through the midsections another two before bringing it about above his head and slamming it down through yet another.

It took the revenants a full second to realize he was behind them and by the time they had, he had already buried his blade into another one of them. A split second later, they charged Siegfried with a certain ferocity he had never seen the creatures have before. Like half crazed animals, they attacked him, clawing, hacking, and biting at any part of his body, most especially at his exposed head and neck. Although their blades and heavy blunt maces struck and bounced harmlessly off his crystallized armor, the ferocity at which they attacked caused him to hesitate for a brief moment. In that hesitation, one of the creatures had managed to sneak beneath him, and throw its blade into the backing of one of his greaves. The blade pierced the light armor and embedded itself in his upper calf, just below the knee. He let out a yell and pushed himself away from the revenant, sliding Soul Calibur through its torso as he did so. The blade needed little force behind it to slice through most type of armor.

His hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of the protruding blade and abruptly ripped it out. He let out a small grunt of pain. With a roar, he threw the blade into one of the oncoming reanimations. The width of the blade smacked the creature across the face, lodging itself into one of its eye sockets. As it approached him, Siegfried simply grabbed the hilt and pulled downward with such force that it tore the left cheek bone open.

He thrust the blade through the last remaining revenant.

Siegfried fell to one knee, resting his weight on Soul Calibur, "Dang got sloppy." He turned to the young woman that lay across from him, her chest rising and falling heavily.

He noticed immediately how damaged and broken she looked. On her face alone were two long cuts, one reaching from her left temple to her cheek. The other was a diagonal slash reaching from the edge of her nose to her chin. There were multiple bruises across her face, already beginning to turn into disgusting purple and red splotches ranging from the size of a pebble to one as large as his fist. He never would've noticed one of the cuts if it hadn't been for the blood that trickled off her chin. The bruise covered most of the wound. His eyes travelled down the length of her body. One of her arms hung limply at her side, while he noticed a large laceration across her midsection. The wound was still pouring fresh blood.

Siegfried rushed to the girl's side, worrying about the depth of the injury. Often, stomach wounds were relatively easy to take care of assuming one could get to them in time before it bled out. However, if the cut was deep then there was always the worry that the blade penetrated the intestines, liver, or other major organs. If that happened there was little he could do without having to use Soul Calibur. Of course, with the sword's power he could more than likely save the girl, but it would take energy he could not simply afford to use right now. He couldn't even use it to heal his own wound. He hoped that he could manage her on his own strength and medicinal knowledge.

He rolled her over onto her back causing her to let out a groan. Giving little attention to privacy, he tore off the lower section of her shirt. He cursed. He would have to unlatch her cuirass to get it. He turned the girl over again, muttering an apology as the motion forced pressure on the wound. She let out another groan, "What are you doing? Who are you?" She breathed out.

"Shh, don't talk right now." He pulled on the latches of her armor that rested below the shoulder, the buckles giving away with an audible "click." He slowly lifted the back flap off, but felt it tug against her skin.

"They took her." She cried. "They took her." He could feel her body quiver beneath him. "The damn monsters took her."

Siegfried looked at her questioningly," Took who?"

"My sister. They took Sophitia."

Siegfried eyes widened, his hands stiffening around her cuirass,_ The Crimson Athenian is her sister? _He cringed. He didn't know if it could get any worse. It was bad enough that he would have to kill Sophitia, but she had a sister. A sister that was right here, pure and untainted by the sword who would have to suffer the rest of her life knowing her sister was murdered by the very person that was trying to save her. He didn't want to have another person's suffering on his conscious, but he didn't have a choice. He had to find her.

"Where did they take her?" he asked. His hands tugged gently at her cuirass again, enough to let him see what was sticking to it. "Damn, another one." He said to himself. He pushed his hands against the cut stretching from the top of her neck to the small of her back.

"I don't know. To Nightmare probably. He would probably try to see if he could still suck out her soul." He saw one of her hands bite into the ground.

"She's dead?" He asked quietly.

Her body began to quiver again, "She killed herself…for me."

Siegfried looked at the girl in shock. A spawn of Nightmare had chosen to kill herself rather than take the life of her sister? Had she actually managed to break free of her corruption and protect someone? He shook his head. No, no way was it possible, not after one had already taken life and felt the false, although powerful, feelings of sickening bliss. The raw flood of emotion Soul Edge fed a person was impossible to overcome. No one could break it.

_Unless the soul is weak._

The words that echoed from the darkest recesses of his mind cut his soul to the center, releasing brief images of his sins. He sucked in his breath and closed his eyes. Guilt and stabbed his heart, but he didn't have to think about it long. He felt the girl move. He opened his eyes and was caught by a slight surprise. The girl was trying to stand.

"Wait, stop what are you doing?" He asked, grasping her shoulders, trying to find the best position to either support her or push her down. He hadn't decided which he was going to do yet. "You need to rest. I haven't had time to properly dress your wounds."

She glanced at him, one of her emerald eyes locking onto his. Inside he could see her rage, her anguish, her lust for vengeance, and perhaps even the desire for death. Siegfried could imagine the turmoil raging inside the girl; all of the burning, the hopelessness, and grief that swirled inside, fighting to escape their bodily containment. For he had felt it once before. When he had accidentally killed his father. In those moments, those same emotions overwhelmed his sanity as they racked and pillaged their way into his soul, forever burning the images into his mind. They filled his heart with an unquenchable guilt and sorrow and grief that it caused him to lose his humanity, and the result was Nightmare. Part of him feared for her. He didn't want anyone else to experience the same turmoil that drove him insane. He didn't want her to fall into the same trap that he had. He wanted to do something to comfort the girl, to give her some kind of peace, but he knew nothing that could cure the pain of an anguished heart.

"I don't know who you are, but don't get in my way stranger." She picked up a sword that rested next to her side. "I thank you for your kindness, but I don't know why you're here. I don't know if you know exactly where you are or what you're getting yourself into." She poised the blade at his neck with speed he never thought the weakened girl could've possessed. It was only years of restraint that hadn't made him lash out at her in surprise. "But if you're after Soul Edge I have no choice but to kill you." Her eyes blazed, "No one can ever touch that sword. Not again. Now tell me why you're here."

Siegfried's lips twitched into a sad smile, "For the same reason you are, to destroy Soul Edge." He rose to his feet, her blade following him, "You're not the only one that knows the evil that resides in that sword. However, I think that I am in much better condition to handle it than you are."

Her eyes narrowed, "Then take me with you."

"What?"

"I said, take me with you." She forced her sword closer to his neck. He could feel the pressure of its edge press against his skin, threatening to bleed him. "I don't know if you know what you're getting yourself into. I've fought the sword before, and defeated it. I know what to expect. Now take me with you."

His eyes closed, "I'm sorry, I can't do that."

"What?" She hissed.

His eyes softened, "You're goal may still be to destroy Soul Edge, however, I fear that with the death of your sister, it's become a vendetta. And for one who may have fought the sword before I would imagine you know that any hatred you have in your heart will only feed it. Make it stronger. I'm sorry, but it's probably best that you turn back and go home."

"No! You have to take me with you!" She cried her blade cut into his neck. Blood trickled from the wound. "You have to; it's my duty to her. I have to destroy it. Please take me with you." Siegfried could see the flame smolder in her eyes, and instead, could see sorrow fill in the void. Tears gushed from her eyes. "Please."

He shook his head, "I'm sorry. In your condition you would only be a hindrance rather than a help. You'll have to let me avenge your sister's death, and I promise I will." His fingers grabbed the edge of her sword and gently pushed it aside. "I'm sorry for your loss." Their eyes locked for a split second before Siegfried turned away and pulled Soul Calibur from the ground. His footsteps echoed through the room as he entered the adjacent hall.

He heard her sword clatter to the floor, and felt her energy disappear as she lost consciousness.

Something suddenly tugged on his senses. A sense of urgency. His eyes widened as he heard the familiar sound of a blade leaving it's sheathe. Instinctively, Siegfried jumped away, his back colliding into a nearby wall with a loud clank. A glint of metal shot passed him and to where he once stood, a long dagger stuck into the ground. He looked at the direction it came from, but before he could completely turn his head a blade flashed in front of his face. He managed to duck beneath it and rolled to the side, pulling Soul Calibur from his back as he did so.

He faced his attacker to find a tall, slender girl, facing him. The blue, skin tight, suit she wore caused his eyes to drift, and rest upon the curves of her body it so easily encouraged. It took him a second, but he managed to shake it off. He could feel her chocolate eyes bore into him.

"You know, the way you treated that girl actually made me hesitate, but now that you've reminded me why I've come to kill you in the first place, I can hesitate no longer." She knelt low, placing her hands onto a pair of blades that hung around her back.

Siegfried's eyes narrowed, "You, I know you. You look so familiar. Who are you?"

The woman smirked, "My name is Taki. And you should remember me. I'm sure some of Soul Edge's memories still linger in your mind. I, with the help of this woman's sister, managed to seal that cursed sword the first time."

Just as the woman said, images of Soul Edge's battle with Sophitia, and then this woman surfaced in his mind. He could remember Soul Edge's pleasure as it prepared to eat Sophitia's soul, and its anger as Taki had interrupted him. He remembered the two clashing across the port, narrowly managing to avoid the fallen woman's body. Lastly, he could remember Taki had barely managed to defeat the cursed sword, although, not without injury to herself.

"Yes, by the look on your face I see you do remember." She said, "I know what it is you're trying to do. I know you're trying to destroy the cursed sword, but I cannot allow you to do it with the weapon you wield. It is as evil and corrupted as Soul Edge. You remember what happened last time you two clashed blades."

Siegfried let out a grunt, "I don't have a choice. It's the only way to atone for my sins. I have to be the one to stop it. And I think you know as well as I do, that this sword is the best chance at permanently sealing Soul Edge forever." His eyes drifted toward the blade. "Even if the requirements are a bit, extreme."

She scoffed, "I fail to see how endangering the lives of every person on the planet would be any less as dangerous as waiting to find another way to seal the sword. You know the ensuing battle could destroy the world. I can't let you do that. There's another way."

"There's no time. By the time you find the alternative Soul Edge could've consumed everything. There wouldn't be a planet to save."

Taki growled in frustration, "Enough! I'm done arguing with a man who refuses to listen! Siegfried Schtauffen you die!"

Taki closed the distance between them with three strides of her long legs. Siegfried barely managed to back away from one of her quick hands. Her blade whistled through the air as he fought to keep himself up right. He cursed himself for not expecting her to attack so quickly. He hadn't had the time to gain a proper foothold. He rolled to one side narrowly managing to dodge a swift kick that had been aimed at his face. He lifted himself into one of his favorite, and most reliable, stances. He was kneeling on the ground, the blade angled toward the ground as it rested on one of his arms. The blade was in the perfect position to allow him to quickly raise the sword from the ground in a horizontal strike, or a hard hitting vertical. It gave him the advantage because it forced the enemy to make a move while he could simply wait, and keep the pace of battle to his liking.

He saw Taki realize the same thing. She glowered at him before suddenly disappearing from his vision. Siegfried's eyes widened as he tracked the room. His eyes darting back and forth, a slight feeling of panic welling up in his chest. He silently wished he had chosen to place his back against the wall, giving her fewer angles to attack from.

He waited quietly for several, long, seconds, but she had not pressed her advantage. She must have known he could not see her, so why didn't she simple attack and get it over with? Unless she liked toying with her prey of course, but the idea was ridiculous to him. She was ninja. They didn't mess around. No, the opposite. They were deadly quick and efficient. They wouldn't leave pass up an opportunity to take the upper hand. No, it was something else. A trick. But what was she doing?

"You have other senses to use Siegfried. Don't rely on your eyes alone." Soul Calibur whispered into his mind. "Listen. Feel. Smell."

Siegfried took the sword's advice. Siegfried dared not close his eyes, lest his hearing be as unreliable as his vision. Instead, he managed to transfer most of his attention from his eyes to his ears and nose and legs, as they were the only part of him touching the floor. He focused on the different elements of his senses every second, allowing one part of him to become more focused with every passing rotation. Soon he could feel every tremor in the ground, every rotting piece of wood and stank, and hear the soft breathing of the unconscious girl.

It was in that moment that he caught her scent: the light fragrance of Sakura blossoms. He hadn't been able to smell it before beneath all of the musk and stale air of the castle. Her smell permeated the room. In that same moment, he felt, more than heard, the sound of her rapidly approaching footsteps.

With unprecedented speed, Siegfried rose from his crouching position, Soul Calibur whistling through the air. He heard Taki give a grunt of surprise as the sword lashed out across her vision, narrowly avoiding her face. The camouflage, or whatever magic she used to hide herself, faded. He forced her to keep moving, not giving her the opportunity to cast it again.

He slid across the floor, his sword carving out rock as it bore into the ground in long, powerful, strokes. Taki danced to avoid them. She spun and kicked as every swing left her with an opportunity to press her quick attacks into the small openings the large swings had presented. However, she realized the man was far quicker than she first thought. On multiple occasions, when she was sure she had the opportunity to strike a blow, he recovered and pressed against her. Often, she narrowly avoided the large sword, feeling it glance off her demon armor. The man moved with the grace and speed of one of her fellow ninjas, and attacked with the strength of a demon. She cursed. The advantage of speed was not as great as she originally thought. If she were to make a mistake, well, she wouldn't have a lot of time to dwell on it. She wasn't sure she could completely beat the man at her current power level, but then again that's what she expected. And so she was prepared to give it all, including her life, to stop him. Although she may not be able to stop Soul Edge, she would give the world the opportunity to.

Taki leapt into the air, grabbing onto one of the poles strapped across the vaulted ceiling. From a pouch concealed beneath one of her chest straps, she pulled out a handful of shuriken. She darted across the ceiling, launching the sharpened stars. Siegfried easily parried the weapons before commanding Soul Calibur to extend. In a powerful swing, Soul Calibur sliced across the ceiling, hardly meeting any resistance in the hardened stone. Taki's eyes widened, as it cut through the roof so easily it might as well of been butter. Taki leapt from the ceiling, rolling across the floor to lessen the impact. Using the momentum of the roll, she launched herself forward and unsheathed her blades. With blinding speed she closed on Siegfried, her swords whistling through the air around him. He jumped back and twisted his arms around, Soul Calibur swinging in a wide arc. She flipped away, bouncing back toward him in the same motion, her swords again dancing around him. He struggled to dodge her flying blades as they moved so quick he could barely see the glint of steel. His feet slid farther and farther back as she pressed her assault. His arms heaved in response, trying to parrying as many blows as possible, and perhaps even strike his own. But the speed at which she moved was superior to his own. He could not commit himself to a full counter attack because within that one second opening she had already recovered and was pressing against him again. He grew increasingly irritated as he was slowly backed into the wall. He couldn't see it, but he could tell that's what she intended to do.

Siegfried growled, "Enough!" Light coursed through his armor, branching out across him like a blooming flower at the arrival of spring. It swirled inside his armor, reflecting itself back and forth through the changing layers and refractions of the crystal.

Taki's eyes widened.

He let out a yell as it suddenly burst from his body in a blinding flash. Taki quickly shut her eyes, grunting as the light pushed itself painfully against her eyelids. She leapt away from him, one of her arms pressed against her eyes. She could feel the heat he imitated prickling against her skin. She listened intently for the sound of his heavy grieves pounding across the floor. He may have blinded her for the moment, but that did not mean he had taken away her hearing. She listened, but heard nothing but the taxed breaths of the unconscious girl. Her hands clenched in frustration. Where had he gone? Why couldn't she hear his breathing? Her body tensed. He had been nearly destroyed at the Lost Cathedral. Perhaps when the spirit sword revived him, it became his sole life source, so he no longer needed to breath in order to survive. She cursed beneath her breath.

The warmth around her dissipated and she ventured a glance beneath her arm. Siegfried stood in front of her, his face set in grim determination, "You needn't worry. I'm not the kind to attack a defenseless opponent. I just needed to get you to move so I could fight you correctly." He turned his body so that his shoulder faced her, Soul Calibur hanging in front of him. His eyes were fixed on hers. "I know what you want, but like I said before. My way is the only way. I'm sorry, but that's how it is. I won't underestimate you this time either. Now, get out of my way."

Siegfried bolted across the floor, Soul Calibur flying across Taki's vision in a wide arc. She ducked and rolled to the right, Rekkimaru shooting at his exposed side, but much to her surprise his elbow collided with her face. Taki reeled backwards. Pieces of her mask fell to the floor as she looked at him in shock. He had expected her to do that? His eyes glinted at her.

He charged at her again, sliding into a side hold and unleashing a twisting kick aimed at her face. Taki flipped Rekkimaru around, so the blade was parallel with her forearm, and leveraged the kick away from her. She twisted her body around, her other sword flying toward his other leg, but he had already turned back around. It bounced harmlessly off the front of his heavily armored grieve. She rolled to the side, slashing Rekkimaru across his back. It barely bit into his armor. Soul Calibur again flashed across her face as Siegfried swung the massive sword behind him in a sweeping circle. Taki flipped away from him, but he was right on top of her. His blade smashed the ground in front of her, hitting with such force that small bits of stone cut across her arms and chest. She flipped and rolled again, but he still kept pace with her, his sword getting closer with each swing.

She grunted as her back met the wall. Without a second thought she turned the blades in her hand and dug them into the wall. She then threw herself away from Siegfried before rolling onto her feet and leaping onto her swords. Using the leverage they provided her, she twisted her body around and fired a powerful roundhouse across his face. The blow caused Siegfried to stagger, forcing him to shove Soul Calibur into the ground to keep himself up right. Taki pressed her advantage.

She ripped Rekkimaru from the wall and swung it across his face. Siegfried's free hand shot up in time to catch the blow, but he couldn't react fast enough to stop the shuriken hidden in her other hand. The sharpened edge cut across his cheek, burning him, with what he assumed was poison, as it seeped into the wound. He swung a fist at her. She adeptly avoided it before grabbing his arm, and using the shuriken to cut the open latch points of his gauntlets. She then twisted his arm behind his back and forced him low to the ground. As she was about to plunge Rekkimaru into the base of his neck, several sharpened crystals shot from his back. Taki gasped as one of the needle like crystals shot through her midsection, and another through her raised arm, barely below her wrist. They quickly receded as Siegfried wheeled around, Soul Calibur's handle smashing through what was left of her demon mask.

Taki slid until she rested roughly in the middle of the room, her face ached horribly, and she could feel blood gushing from the wound across her wrist. Apparently the spike had penetrated an artery. She would soon bleed to death, and there was nothing she could do. She felt a smirk twitch at her cheek. Well, she had done what she set out to do. The poison that was coursing through Siegfried's veins would kill him in a matter of minutes. She'd given the world hope, though at the cost of her life, but she knew what she was risking when she fought him with only thirty percent of her power. Her eyes travelled to the unconscious girl. She only hoped that she could get out of here alive at least.

Taki heard the sound of Siegfried's grieves clack against the floor. She turned her head, "Well, I guess we both die today. In a matter of minutes we will both be dead." She stared into his eyes, "I'm sorry it had to end this way. I really would've preferred not to kill you. I can sense the desire inside you to repent, to change the world and make sure that no one such as yourself exists ever again, and honestly, I share that desire. But you would not listen to reason. You left me no choice."

"Taki," he hesitated, "I remember what happened at the Lost Cathedral. I remember how my body was torn apart, and I remember the destruction we caused. I remember everything, but as I said before; Soul Calibur is the only way to ensure that Soul Edge is destroyed forever. I'm sorry, but you and I both know that's the truth." He staggered and fell to one knee. His body retched violently, blood splattering onto the floor. "And you should know; only one of us is going to die today." He grasped Taki's wrist.

_"_Soul Calibur," He called, "save her life. Heal the wound."

"But if I do that, I may not have the power to sustain you." She replied. "You will not have the power to destroy Soul Edge."

"I know, but I will not have another death on my conscious."

"As you wish, Siegfried." Soul Calibur's power shot through his arm like a cold stream, immediately latching itself to the wound. It surged into Taki's body, quickly sealing and repairing the damaged artery and torn ligaments piece by piece. Freezing and solidifying the rushing blood and using it to clot the opening. It then forced the severed ends together and froze them into place, removing the clot as it did. Soul Calibur then flowed down to her stomach, freezing her blood again and using it to clot the edges of the wound before grafting skin from her stomach across the opening and freezing it into place. "It is done."

Taki stared at him in wonder, "Why? Why did you do this?"

Siegfried smiled sadly at her, "Too many people other than me have died this day." He motioned to the girl. "Her sister sacrificed herself for her. I wasn't going to let you die too, even if you were trying to stop me." He coughed again. "But with that said, I can't have you following me." He pressed down on her wrist.

"What?" Taki's eyes widened suddenly, and then something inside them flashed. She moved to pull his hand away, but the movement was slow, lethargic. Her hand latched onto his armored wrist. She pulled and struggled against him, but found the strength in her body withering away. Her breathing began to slow, and her eyes started to close. "What, what are you doing to me?" She slurred.

"I'm sorry." He said, not taking his eyes from hers, "Just sleep." Taki mumbled something incoherently. A second later she slipped into a light slumber.

Siegfried let out a sigh and forced himself to stand, but his legs felt like jelly. They threatened to buckle as he stepped forward. He had to use Soul Calibur as a crutch to stop himself from falling.

"I warned you Siegfried." Soul Calibur's voice echoed in his head. A cool chill ran up his spine.

"I know, but," He grunted as his foot slipped out from under him. His arm shot forward to catch himself. "But, she was worth it."

"How so?"

He lifted himself up and took another step forward, "Every life is worth saving. I won't let another person die because of me. I won't let another person hurt because of me."

The unconscious girl's face flashed in his mind. His heart twinged as the memories of her injuries, and her pained cries, appeared in his mind. After today, she would be the last person to suffer. After today, the world would finally be rid of Soul Edge.

He glanced back at the girl, burning her face into his mind. Every angle, ever curve of her face, and every bruise and scar his deeds had ultimately, even if indirectly, had given her. He wanted it burned into his memory. Even though Taki said the poison would kill him, he wouldn't let it. He was so close now. He would not fail. For the girl, he would not fail.

He turned away from her, "Soul Calibur, keep me alive long enough to get to Nightmare. I promise I'll stop him." The girl's face appeared in his mind again, "I promise."

**So that's the end of that chapter. I hope it didn't end too abruptly. As I said before I'm still getting back into writing. Ok so please, please, please pass along some reviews. It would help so much, especially if you offered cc and perhaps just something to keep me motivated. Thanks so much. Until the next chapter (which I will get out faster. I was just having a lot of issues with Taki's and Seig's fight scene).**


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